Planoouai



R. W'. MENK.

KILN FURNACE.

APPucAnoN HLED Amma. 191s.

Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

'ma coLuMlA PLANoGn/mn co., WASHINGTON. D. c.

R. W. MENK.

KILU FURNACE.

APPucAUoM FILED Aue.2s. 191B.

l ,309,2 1 3, Patented July 8, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

)UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUDOLPH. W. MENK, GF JOLIET, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE EXCELSIOR STEELFURNACE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

KEN-FURNACE.

Application filed August 28, 1918,

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, RUDOLPH W. MENK, a citizenof the United States, and a resident ofthe city of Joliet, in the countyof Will and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Kiln-Furnaces, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to brick kilns and more particularly to theconstruction of the furnace or burner employed in connection therewith.

In structures of this type, it is usually the practice to produce andmaintain in the kiln a sufficient temperature in order to thoroughlybake the bricks. In the ordinary type of furnace', it has been thepractice to provide grate bars onto which fuel is fed which burns linthe manner of the ordinary updraft furnace. It will he appreciated thata considerable loss of heat units is occasioned by such a structure asthere is a considerable quantity of volatile combustible matter which isliberated upon the heating of the fuel before the volatile matterreaches a temperature at which combustion takes place and whichtherefore passes away without combustion and without producing any heat.This requires the consumption of considerably more fuel than isnecessary in a furnace of the type I have designed. It might be herestated that I employ the principles of a down draft furnace or heater,thereby causing the given olf gases to be carried through the burningfueland consumed therein so that a greater portion, if not all of theheat units are developed. In attempting to operate structures of thiskind upon the down draft principle, serious obstacles have been metwhich have been difficult to overcome, the chief of which is the burningout of the grates and other portions of the structure, owing to theintense heat. It is therefore an object of my invention to provide abrick kiln furnace that is operated upon the down draft principle andwhich is so constructed that the burning out of the parts is ohviated toa more or less extent, and at the same time provide in such a structurean arch or bridge that may be readily replaced in the vent suchcontingency arises. It has also been found in furnaces that, after thetemperature of the fuel is raised, thereA is a material expansion in thebody of the fuel Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July S, 1919.

serial No. 251,751.

which causes the fuel to become jammed and clogged between the verticalwalls of the furnace which interferes with the feeding of the fuel bygravity, the passage of a suitable amount of air therethrough to providethe requisite draft therethrough, and frequently causes the formation ofa solid bridge or wall above the hot mass of fuel which is ditlicult tobreak down and unless it receives attention at the proper time,interferes with the economical functioning of the furnace. In thedesigning of my present furnace, IV have taken care of this contingencyby the provision of a removable iire-boX or furnace liner the interiorsurfaces whereof are inclined outwardly and downwardly which affordsroom for the eXpa-iision of the fuel as it becomes heated, so that thejamming thereof and the formation of the fuel bridge above referred toare prevented. This liner is also vertically corrugated which materiallyassists in maintaining a suitable draft. I also provide a structure thatis novel in construction, simple in operation and extremely inexpensiveand economical to manufacture and operate, and which at the same time iseasily repaired or parts replaced, without having to shut down theentire kiln or disturb the other furnaces.

I prefer to accomplish the divers objects of my invention bysubstantially t-he means and in the manner hereinafter described and agpointed out in the claims, reference 'being had now to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part of this specification, in which,-

Figure l is a longitudinal, vertical section of a furnace for a brickkiln, showing the wallsV of the kiln in fragmentary section and myimprovements installed therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevation taken on line Q of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an arch that I prefer to employ.

Referring to the drawings wherein the same reference charactersdesignate like parte throughout the views, it will be observed that Adesignates the exterior kiln wall that is usually circular in outlineand of a height in proportion to the size and shape of the kiln forwhich it is designed. This kiln wall ik, at the place for the loca-Vtion of the furnace, is pierced te provide an opening E of a suitableheight for the installation of the grates and arch hereafter to bedescribed.

Back of the opening E in the kiln wall is an interior or baffle wall Bthat extends to approximately the same height or a little lower than theexterior wall,` for the purpose of directing the heat to and adjacentthe dome C of the kiln.

The furnace comprises horizontal grate bars 5 that are supported attheir inner ends on cross bar 6 secured to the vertical inner wall B andsaid grate bars extend to and slightly in front of t-he inside surfaceof the exterior wall A and are supported on a suitable transverse memberF mounted in the kiln wall transversely of the opening E. These gratesare preferably of the rocker type and are provided with a shaker bar 5athat extends forwardly from the outer end of one of the grate bars to orthrough the casing of the furnace, so that these inner grates may beshaken to remove the ashes from the same into the ash-pit. An ash-pit Dis provided below the grate bars 5 and extends through the kiln wall Ainto the lower portion of the furnace and access is had to this ash-pitthrough the usual ash-pit opening in the front wall 8 of the furnacethat is closed by a suitable door 7.

The furnace comprises a vertical wall or shell S, in which the ash-pitopening and door 7 are provided, and is also provided with a suitabletop 9 of a dome-shape or inclined as shown, in which is a fuel or draftdoor 10. A counter balance chain 11 and weight 11ZL are connected withthis door 10 so that the latter may be adjusted to divers positions inorder to provide suitable draft. Inclined grate bars 12 extend upwardlyand outwardly from the outer ends of the grate bars 5 to and are securedto the exterior wall 8 of the furnace, as shown, and the top of theopening E, heretofore mentioned, in the kiln wall A, is bridged by anarch of peculiar and special construction.

The sides of the opening E are provided with shelves 13, upon which thearch is mounted and said arch preferably comprises a block of fire brickor the like, 14. Suitable supporting legs 15 are provided at each end ofthe brick 14, and the space intermediate said legs is arched, as shownin detail in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. Ihe front of the arch brickis provided with an upstanding portion 16, that extends longitudinallythereof in order to protect the outer surface of the kiln wall A, asshown in Fig. 1, and the main body portion 17 affords a. platform thatextends beneath the wall A of the kiln above the opening E and affordsprotection thereto. The transverse sectional form of the brick formingthe arch is of the particular shape shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and isprovided with transverse vertical ribs 1S that afford suitable draftpassages when the fuel is banked against them in the usual manner. rlhefront corrugated surface of the arch brick is inclined downwardly andrearwardly as shown.

Similar bricks 142l and 14b are positioned within the furnace as shownin Figs. 1 and 2 so as to extend forwardly from the ends of the archbrick 14 to the front wall of the furnace casing and thereby provideabove the fuel holding grates a chamber of downwardly increasingcapacity whereby thejexpansion of the fuel is provided for and theformation of fuel bridges is prevented.

In Fig. 1 I have shown the manner of firing the kiln above described,wherein it will be observed that after the fire has been started, theburning fuel is pushed back upon the grates 5 and the new fuel is addedthrough the draft door 10 and the fuel door 19 in the front of thefurnace, until the fuel has been piled up and covers the arch. The doors19 and 7 are kept closed'and the draft door 10 is opened in order topermit of a down draft through the fuel. As the fuel in the furnacechamber in front of the kiln wall A becomes heated and then ignited, thesmoke and volatile gases from the fuel will pass through the burningfuel on the grate bars 5 and be consumed and develop heat units, passingup into the kiln in the usual manner. As fast as the fuel in the outsidechamber of the furnace is consum-ed, the ashes from the burned fuel ongrates 5 are shaken down into the ash-pit, the hot coals on the grates12 are pushed back to take their places on the grate 5, and fresh fuelis added, in the manner above described. In the event the arch shouldburn out from any one of the series of furnaces about a single kiln, theparticular furnace thus disabled may be cooled by dropping the coalsinto the ash-pit and then the arch bar 14 may be removed and a new onereplaced and that furnace started again.V This will enable the remainingfurnaces to be continued in use without materially affecting theoperation ofthe kiln.

I have herein illustrated a specic manner of carrying out my invention,but I desire it understood that the drawings are merely diagrammatic forthe purpose of illustrating the principles involved, and it is quiteobvious that changes and modifications thereof may be made withoutmaterially departing therefrom. For example, the strueture hereindisclosed in connection with a kiln furnace may be easily applied tofurnaces of other types. I therefore desire itV understood that I do notlimit myself to the precise construction and disposition of the partsshown and described.

What I claim as new is 1. A furnace comprising a casing, a wall dividingsaid casing into opposite compartments and having an aperture thereinaf- ISQ fording communication between said compartments, a burning gratein one of said compartments, a fuel supporting grate in the oppositecompartment, the adjacent ends of said grates meeting in and at a pointbelow the top of said aperture, a lintel in the top of said apertureconsisting of a fire brick the surface whereof disposed in said fuelcompartment is inclined downwardly and outwardly toward the fuelsupporting grate, similar fire brick extending forwardly of said lintelin the walls of said compartment above said fuel supporting grate, andmeans for admitting draft above said fuel supporting grate. Y

2. A furnace comprising a casing, a wall dividing said casing intoopposite compartments and having an aperture therein affordingcommunication between said compartments, a burning grate in one of saidcompartments, a fuel supporting grate in the opposite compartment, theadjacent ends of said grates meeting in and at a point below the top ofsaid aperture, a removable lintel in the top of said aperture consistingof a fire brick the surface whereof disposed in said fuel compartment isprovided 'with vertical corrugations and inclined down wardly andoutwardly toward the fuel supporting` grate, similar fire brickextending forwardly of said lintel in the walls of said compartmentabove said fuel supporting grate, and means for admitting draft abovesaid fuel supporting grate.

3. A furnace comprising communicating compartments, a burning gratelocated in one of said compartments adjacent the place of communication,a fuel supporting grate located in the other of said compartmentsinclined to the place of communication between said compartments and tosaid burning grate, a removable lintel above the place of communicationbetween said compartments said lintel having decreasing crosssectionaldimensions from the top to the bottom, members similar in form to saidlint el extending forwardly therefrom in the wall of the compartment inwhich said fuel supporting grate is installed, and means for admitting adraft above said fuel supporting grate.

l. ln firing means for kilns comprising fuel retaining walls, a. wallprovided with an opening through which communication is had to theinterior of the kiln, a lintel for said opening consisting of a firebrick the surface whereof is inclined downwardly and outwardly andprovided with transverse corrugations.

5. in firing means for kilns comprising fuel retaining walls, a wallprovided with an opening through which communication is had to theinterior of the kiln, a lintel for said opening consisting of a iirebrick having decreasing cross-sectional dimensions from the top to thebottom and provided with vertical corrugations upon its inclinedsurface.

6. In firing means for kilns comprising fuel retaining walls, a wallprovided with an opening through which communication is had to theinterior of the kiln, a lintel for said opening of decreasingcross-sectional dimensions from the top to the bottom and havingtransverse corrugations, and members similar in form to said lintelextending forwardly therefrom in said fuel retaining walls.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 21st dayof August,

RUDOLPH W. MENK. Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, Jr., H. SLACK.

Qopies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing;the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, B. G.

